This invention relates to a new process for the production of urethane-modified polyisocyanates which are particularly valuable starting materials in the production of polyurethane plastics.
Processes for the production of urethane-modified polyisocyanate preparations (i.e. isocyanate-terminated prepolymers or semiprepolymers), particularly those based on polyisocyanates or polyisocyanate mixtures of the diphenyl methane series (4,4'-diisocyanatodiphenylmethane, mixtures thereof with 2,4'- and, optionally 2,2'-diisocyanatodiphenylmethane or phosgenation products of aniline/formaldehyde condensates which, in addition to these diisocyanates, contain higher homologs thereof), and a variety of different polyhydroxyl compounds are known to those skilled in the art. For example, such processes are described in European Patent Applications 10 850 and 66 130; German Offenlegungsschriften Nos. 23 47 207, 24 04 166, 25 13 793, 25 13 796, 26 20 222, 26 22 104, 27 32 182, 27 37 338, 28 04 375, 28 10 596, 28 15 579 and 29 13 126; U.S. Pat. No. 3,644,457; 4,055,548, 4,234,714 and 4,321,333 and also Great Britain No. 1,369,334. In general, the processes described in these publications are concerned with the liquefaction of diisocyanatodiphenylmethane (more particularly 4,4'-diisocyanatodiphenylmethane) which is solid at room temperature or with a reduction in the tendency towards crystallization during storage at low temperatures of polyisocyanate mixtures of the diphenylmethane series which mixtures are liquid at room temperature.